Welcome and thanks to Carole Thayne Warburton, author of novels such as: A Question of Trust, Sun Tunnels and Secrets, Just Shy of Paradise, and False Pretenses. Carole loves hiking, bike riding, skiing, making pots, and, of course, writing. She lives in Northern Utah with her husband of 32 years.
What is your favorite Shakespeare play?
I was a latecomer to Shakespeare and prefer the lighter plays like “Much Ado About Nothing.”
If you had a time machine, when would you like to visit?
I may want to drop in on the Renaissance period and see some of the masters like Michelangelo and Leondardo Da Vinci, but I wouldn’t want to spend much time there. I love the modern world. I think I’d rather head into the future about 150 years and see how our world is compared to now.
Do you have any hidden talents?
Although it isn’t a hidden talent since I was a potter long before I began writing seriously, I graduated with an art degree and emphasis on pottery/ceramics. Ceramics is the proper term for any clay product fired in a kiln, but I don’t like to use that term because often people assume I paint molded ceramic pieces. What I do is make pottery on the potters wheel or by hand. I’ve been doing it for over 35 years. A hidden talent I have is that although I am somewhat of a shy person, I am blessed with the ability to make friends from all walks of life.
Best writing advice you’ve ever received?
Write even when you don’t feel like it. And put the editor in the closet while you write.
Writing advice you’d give to others?
Read, read, read! Also don’t take your writing so seriously that you are defensive when editors and readers try to give you suggestions. But ultimately you are the one who has to decide what you want to say. Consider an editor asking you to rewrite as an opportunity to improve it, not as a rejection of your story.
What process do you go through as you get a book ready for submission?
I am involved in two writing critique groups. Several of these friends read my manuscript before I send it to a publisher or editor. I try to listen to what they have to say. Often they have good ideas that help me take a good idea into a better one. They also help me find awkward places that need reworking.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a novel that is set in Yellowstone National Park. It’s a mystery suspense romance—similar to my others but without any LDS themes in it. My books are light on LDS themes anyway and since this one is not set in Utah, it was natural not to have religion play into it at all.
You can learn more about Carole and her books (and her pottery) here, or find her facebook page here. You can also read a sample chapter here: Chapter One.
A. L. Sowards 